"The struggle to become a better photographer involves getting critiques from others who are better and know how to create better images, but you can also be a very harsh critic of yourself. It starts off with not justifying any defense that you may have and understanding that in a real life situation, your image is going to have to stand on its own two legs because you probably won’t be there to defend it. If your image is online and someone writes a comment, then sure, you can have a back and forth dialog. But for the sake of putting up the best work that possibly can, we’re not going to think about that situation.

"For that reason, here is a checklist of questions to ask yourself before you put up an image. We think of these all the time as we get images submitted to us for featuring. If you’re finding that the odds are against you when you ask these questions, then don’t use the image unless you can fix it."